Apparatus for ejecting soot and dust



Dec. 12, 1933. w. c. HARPSTER APPARATUS FOR EJECTING SOOT AND DUST Filed Deb. 29, 1951 Patented Dec. 12, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Walter C. Harpster, Elizabeth, N. J., assignor to Standard Oil Development Company, a corporation of Delaware Application December 29, 1931 Serial No. 583,693

9 Claims. (Cl. .257248) This invention relates to improvements in structure for cleaning the surfaces of tubes.

It is anobject 'of this invention to provide for the effective removal of soot, dust and the like accumulating upon the roughened or ribbed surfaces of heat exchange tubes such as gill ring tubes.

Other objects will be apparent from the specification and from the accompanying drawing in which latter Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view through a bank of gill ring tubes embodying the invention and their supporting tube setting.

Fig. 2 is a detailed transverse sectional view through one of the tubes shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a tube taken along the lines 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring particularly to the drawing, the invention is illustrated as applied to a bank of tubes constituting a tube still for the distillation of hydrocarbon oils. Reference numeral 1 designates a tube setting which supports the bank of tubes through which the hydrocarbon oil is passed while being'subjected to heat from a furnace chamber 2 The products of combustion from the furnace pass upwardly between and,

around the individual tubes as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1 and are discharged through a suitable flue, not shown, above the bank of tubes. The tubes are ordinarily inclined at more or less of an angle to the horizontal. Soot, dust and the like carried upwardly by the hot gases of combustion tend to be deposited upon the upper surface of each tube where they accumulate in amounts sufficient to heat insulate to a greater or less extent the upper portion of each tube from the hot gases whereby transfer of heat through the walls of the tubes into the body of oil flowing through the tubes is hindered.

Each tube comprises a main tube 4 having a channel 5 and encased in a sleeve 6. The sleeve is formed of adjoining gill rings 7 encircling the main tube 4. Each gill ring comprises a wall 8 having annular ribs 9 projecting outwardly fromthe wall. A blowing element is incorporated with each tube as will now be described and comprises a conduit formed longitudinally of the sleeve and embedded in the ribs. Preferably the gill rings constitute a sleeve the under surface of which is thickened to form a boss 11 extending longitudinally of the sleeve, the bosses of the gill rings being in alignment longitudinally of the sleeve. The aligned bosses 11 are provided with a passageway 12 which extends longitudinally of the sleeve and which opens through the tube '2 eliminating the accumulated deposits of soot,

sheet preferably with a threaded portion at 13 for connection with a steam, air or water line,

or the like. The passageway is lined with a pipe 14 having a channel 15 which opens into the passageway in the end gill rings. The pipe 14 and boss 11 are provided with aligned orifices 16 and 1'7 respectively which preferably open be-- tween the ribs 9 of the gill rings, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. The orifices preferably face downwardly from the tubes in the direction of the upper surface of an adjoining tube. Steam, compressed air, water or the like in passing through the pipes 14 is discharged through the orifices into position to blast against the upper surface of an adjacent tube to blow away the soot and dust accumulated upon the surface of the tube, as has been clearly illustrated in Fig. 1. Preferably the delivery orifices are sufliciently closely spaced to cause a blast of fluid to engage each valley between the ribs 9. The ring construction may be in the form of a continuous casting encasing both the main tube 4 and the pipe 14, the casting being made directly on the tube and pipe. Alternatively the gill rings can be separately assembled upon the main tube 4. 80

The blowing element forms a part of the gill ring structure itself being cast therein as a channel traversing the boss of metal which is cast upon the inner tube as a part of the gill ring structure. If desired the passageway can be formed inthe boss by the use of a suitable core during the casting operation.

By the construction described the blowing element is incorporated integrally with each tube whereby warping, burning and destruction of the element is minimized in the hotter section of the setting. Also a jet of fluid can be applied ;between each pair of rings thereby thoroughly ash, dust and the like.

While the invention has been described as applied to the tubes of a pipe still for the distillation of hydrocarbon oils, it will be understood that it can be applied for internal or external cleansing of the tubes of boilers, economizers, steam super-heaters, duplex-fluid heat transfer surfaces and the like as well as for use in hydrocarbon oil cracking coils and other oil heating elements...

Various changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims in which it is desired to claim all novelty inherent in the invention as broadly as the prior art permits.

I claim:

1. In heat exchange apparatus, a tube, ribs projecting outwardly from the wall of the tube,

and a conduit extending longitudinally of the tube embedded in the ribs, the conduit having orifices spaced longitudinally in its side wall and opening exteriorly of the tube.

2. In heat exchange apparatus, a tube and annular ribs projecting outwardly from the tube, a wall of the tube being thickened to form a boss extending longitudinally of the tube, the boss having a passageway extending longitudinally of the tube, the passageway having orifices spaced longltudinally in its side wall and opening exteriorly thereof.

3. In heat exchange apparatus, a tube, a sleeve formed v.of adjoining rings encircling the tube, ribs projecting from the periphery of and encircling the sleeve, the ribs having openings aligned longitudinally of the sleeve, and a pipe in the openings extending longitudinally of the sleeve, the pipe having orifices spaced longitudinally in its side wall and opening exteriorly of the sleeve.

4. In heat exchange apparatus, a tube, a sleeve formed of adjoining rings encircling the tube, ribs projecting from the'periphery of the sleeve, the sleeve having a longitudinally extending passageway in its side walls, and a pipe in the passageway, the pipe and wall of the passageway having aligned orifices spaced longitudinally of the sleeve and opening exteriorly of the sleeve.

5. In heat exchange apparatus, a tube, a sleeve formed of adjoining rings encircling the tube, ribs projecting from the periphery of the sleeve, 8. wall of the sleeve being thickened to form a boss, the boss having a passageway extending longitudinally of the sleeve, and a pipe in the passageway, the pipe and boss having aligned orifices spaced longitudinally of the sleeve and opening exteriorly of the sleeve.

6. .Heat exchange apparatus comprising tube sheets, a bank of substantially parallel tubes supported by and opening through the tube sheets, annular ribs projecting outwardly from the tubes and a conduit extending longitudinally of each tube embedded in the portion of the ribs adjacent another tube, the conduit having orifices spaced longitudinally in its side wall and opening exteriorly of the tube toward the said other tube.

7. Heat exchange apparatus comprising tube sheets, a bank of superimposed tubessupported by and opening through the tube sheets, annular ribs projecting outwardly from the tubes, and a conduit extending longitudinally of each tube embedded in the ribs on the bottom of each tube, the conduit having orifices spaced longitudinally in its side wall and opening exteriorly of the tube toward an adjacent tube.

8. Heat exchange apparatus comprising tube sheets, a bank of superimposed tubes supported by and opening through the tube sheets, annular ribs projecting outwardly from the tubes, the bottom of each tube being thickened to form a longitudinally extending boss, each boss having a passageway extending longitudinally of the tube, each passageway having openings spaced longitudinally of the tube in the bottom wall of the boss adapted to direct fluid against the upper surface of an adjacent tube.

9. Heat exchange apparatus, comprising tube sheets, a bank of superimposed tubes supported by and opening through the tube sheets, a sleeve formed of adjoining rings encircling each tube, ribs projecting from the periphery of the sleeve, each sleeve having a passageway extending longitudinally through the under surface of the sleeve, and a pipe disposed in the passageway, the bottom wall of the pipe and passageway having longitudinally spaced aligned orifices through their bottom walls adapted to direct fluid against the upper surface of an adjacent tube.

WALTER C. HARPSTER. 

